On Wednesday european markets are set to fall further as the rapid spread of the Covid-19 continues across the continent, while U.S. presidential election uncertainty compounds risk-off sentiment.
Britain’s FTSE 100 is seen around 47 points lower at 5,682, Germany’s DAX is set to fall by around 187 points to 11,877 and France’s CAC 40 is expected to decline by around 77 points to 4,654, according to IG data.
New Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths have continued to surge across Europe and the U.S. in recent days, prompting further restriction measures in many countries. Reports have suggested that France could be heading for a national lockdown in a bid to contain the resurgent outbreak.
Mainland China also reported its highest number of daily new cases for more than two months on Wednesday, while the U.S. is seeing record cases and hospitalizations in parts of the Midwest. Asia-Pacific markets were mixed in overnight trade as investors monitored the virus, while U.S. stock futures are pointing to a lower open on Wall Street later in the day.
On the vaccine front, Pfizer said Tuesday that data from a late-stage trial of its vaccine developed alongside Germany’s BioNTech will likely not be available until after the Nov. 3 U.S. election, while EU officials have said vaccines are unlikely to be available across Europe until 2022, according to Reuters.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday acknowledged that there will be no coronavirus relief bill before election day, with the White House and congressional Democrats still embroiled in protracted negotiations.
